1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking apparatus capable of verifying a fingerprint and unlocking a door locked with the locking apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
An example of a locking apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-70382 briefly shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a front view partly showing a door 101 seen from the outside thereof and FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing an operation unit 103 installed on the door 101.
The operation unit 103 of the related art has a housing 105 attached to the door 101. The housing 105 incorporates a fingerprint reader 107. The reader 107 is in a chamber 109 defined in the housing 105. The chamber 109 has an opening 111 to be opened and closed with a lid 113. Usually, the opening 111 is closed with the lid 113.
The locking apparatus receives necessary power from a power source such as a battery or a DC source. The power source has a power switch that is turned on when the fingerprint reader 107 is pushed with a finger.
To unlock the door 101, a person opens the lid 113, puts a finger on the fingerprint reader 107, and presses the reader 107 with the finger to turn on the power switch. The reader 107 reads a fingerprint from the finger. The read fingerprint is sent to a fingerprint verifier that verifies the read fingerprint based on registered fingerprint data. If the fingerprint verifier authenticates the person with the fingerprint, the door 101 is unlocked.
This apparatus of the related art involves troublesome handling. When a person wants to open the door 101, the person must open the lid 113, insert a finger, and press the fingerprint reader 107 to turn on the power switch. In this way, the related art provides no ease of use.
The fingerprint reader 107 must every time be pressed with a finger to turn on the power switch, and therefore, the reader 107 has a risk of breakage and is unreliable in durability.
To turn off the power switch, the related art must employ, for example, a timer. This increases the cost of the apparatus.